The Iranian media reports that the evacuation of Syrian rebels and civilians from eastern Aleppo has come to an end, and that the entire city is now under the control of the Syrian army.
A senior Iranian security official has slammed a United Nations Security Council resolution that calls for international observers to monitor the evacuation of civilians trapped in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.
Iraqi National Security Advisor Falih al-Fayyad is visiting Moscow for security talks with Russian officials, the Iranian media reports.
A top Iranian official admitted on December 21 that Tehran and Moscow shared a base in Syria to coordinate their military support for the country’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad.
On December 19, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unveiled a “Citizens’ Rights Charter” that he promised would guarantee Iranians’ individual rights and civil liberties.
In a speech published in the Iranian media, Rouhani called on relevant authorities to ensure that all Iranian citizens enjoy personal security and freedom, have access to fair trial and justice, are not subjected to forced confessions, are immune from illegal intrusions into their privacy, and are not persecuted for religious beliefs.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has claimed that its engineers are tasked to repair the Mosul Dam, Iraq’s largest dam that generates hydroelectricity and provides water for agricultural irrigation in Nineveh Governorate.
Hailing the IRGC’s scientific capabilities and non-military expertise, General Salar Abnoush, the deputy head of IRGC’s construction conglomerate Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Base, said that the company was busy “repairing cracks in Mosul Dam to prevent the complete inundation of the Iraqi cities of Samarra, Mosul and Kadhimiya.”
On December 20, a senior commander of an Iran-run Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) unit in Iraq said the militia forces were stationed within three kilometers of Tal Afar city and were awaiting for an order from Baghdad to enter the city center.
Iranian Quds Force Commander Qassem Suleimani was recently spotted touring the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo.
Iranian extremist cleric Hassan Kurdmihan, the confessed mastermind of the January 2016 attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, is heard in a leaked tape recording telling his followers that the attack was “carried out upon a green light from the government and the regime,” according to a December 18 report in al-Arabiya. Kurdmihan can also be heard in the leaked calls directing members of the Iranian Basij and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to burn and destroy the Embassy and seize documents inside. The leaked recordings have been attributed to the Iranian opposition Green Mov
Despite growing concerns in the United States and the Arab world about Iran’s destabilizing role in the region, Iranian leaders continue to defend the country’s subversive policies in the Yemeni conflict.
Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, who is not only a grand ayatollah but also a strong defender of all of Tehran’s policies, said on December 19 that “British statements of support for the Arab countries” are only aime
General Rahim Safavi, a top military advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the “freedom of Aleppo” a product of the alliance between Iran, Russia, Syria and Hezbollah.” Safavi said that today “the United States has found out very well that the Islamic Republic of Iran is the first power in the region and has more influence than the other countries in the area.” He continued that “the alliance between Iran, Russia, Syria and Hizballah led to the liberation of Aleppo, and we will also liberate Mosul soon.”
Mohammad Reza Sheibani, Iran’s last ambassador to Damascus who has recently returned to Tehran, vowed that Iranian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will remain until the very end.
On December 18, a senior Iranian cleric claimed that Iran’s influence was expanding across the Middle East and called on the country’s armed forces to “nullify” America’s role and power in the region.
